Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma—observations on 30 new cases

Abstract

Thirty new cases of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma are presented, bringing the total of well-documented cases in the literature to only 51. Seventeen of these arose in soft tissues. The ribs and jaws were the most common sites of origin; only five tumors arose in major tubular bones. Females predominated slightly (57%), and more than half of the tumors were found during the second and third decades of life. The histology is characterized by sheets of highly undifferentiated small, oval, or round cells, and by islands of welldifferentiated cartilage. The small cells usually displayed a hemangiopericytoid or an alveolar pattern. Lobulation was common; calcification and metaplastic bone formation in the chondroid islands were frequent. The great variability in the clinical course is reemphasized, survival from the time of diagnosis to death in this series varying from 6 months to 13.5 years. Radical surgery appears to be the treatment of choice.